Utilizing crew resource management

Since the original programs of the 1980s, crew resource management (CRM) training has evolved to include additional subject matter beyond a focus on interpersonal communication. Today, CRM core content typically includes topics such as leadership, team building, followership and conflict resolution, decision-making, human factors, situational awareness, and managing automation and technology (Helmreich et al., 1999; FAA, 2004; O’Connor et al., 2008). Today, at many airlines, CRM appears less as a standalone program and instead has seen its concepts become firmly entrenched in all facets of airline training. Specific behaviors have been embedded and standardized in day-to-day operations. For example, pilots provide verbal readbacks and callouts to each other before moving or selecting critical switches in the cockpit; formal briefings at key points during a flight appear as specific items to be completed on cockpit checklists. CRM is not a seminar or class; it’s a way of life.

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